A stand-off bracket typically comprises a cylindrical barrel that can be attached to a supporting substrate such as a floor, by screwing the barrel onto a threaded fastener that is partially embedded in the substrate, attaching the barrel to the substrate with screws, or the like. The stand-off bracket has a disc-shaped cap that can be attached to the barrel with a space between the barrel and the cap. A glass panel is placed adjacent the barrel and the cap is attached to the barrel with a fastener that passes through a hole in the glass panel, so that the glass panel is held in place relative to the barrel, by the cap and fastener.
Stand-off brackets are popular in the building industry for glass balustrades and other applications where glass or other panels are spaced from their supporting substrates largely due to the simplicity of their use and for their aesthetic appeal. However, the stand-off brackets need to be strong enough to withstand the loads that may be imposed on balustrades and, in light of the disastrous consequences failure of a balustrade can have, stand-off brackets need to be made with a significant margin of safety and in most countries, need to comply with rigorous safety standards. In order to meet these requirements and to meet the requirements of aesthetic appeal and durability, stand-off brackets are almost always machined from solid stainless steel and are polished after machining. The high cost of the stainless steel used, as well as the high machining and polishing costs cause the stand-off brackets to be very expensive.
The present invention seeks to provide a cost-effective, yet strong and appealing stand-off brackets.